To China for an eclipse - for an adventure...

Mike (http://www.silkroadstans.blogspot.com/) and Curtis (http://curtisbryantmusic.com/news.html), two seasoned travelers, head to the Middle Kingdom for the July 2009 solar eclipse, billed as the longest of the 21st century. Below is a chronology of their three-week travel adventure, which took them from Shanghai, to Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, and through some of the ancient capitals of past Chinese empires: Xi'an (Chang'an), Luoyang, Kaifeng and Nanjing, and finally back by rail to Shanghai.

Sun, July 19

Mike

Uneventful plane ride from Atlanta to Shanghai. Nearly went over the North Pole, actually crossed the Arctic and Siberia. We arrived in Shanghai on time. Everyone at the quarantine tables was wearing masks. Got through that and customs routinely.

The maglev into town (50 yuan = $7.30 US) took 8 minutes to cover 30 km. Then subway 8 stops on two lines got us to Hailun Rd Station, somewhat more than 1 km from the hotel (Hengsheng Peninsula Intl Hotel). And what a walk it was. In 30 minutes of walking with our backpacks, we soaked through our shirts and underwear. The temperature seems to be 37 (97) and it is stifling hot.

We have a smallish 4 star room on the 12th floor of the hotel. At 4 PM, we just sacked out for 2 1/2 hours.

Now (evening) we are walking through the Bund. What a Zoo. All the buildings on the Pudong (east side of the Pu River) are spectacularly lit up. The crowds are mostly Chinese, with some tourists. And the hawkers ... worse than anything I saw in Beijing.

As usual, the Internet at the hotel was 10 Y per 10 minutes. This Net cafe is 3 Y per hour.
The sun has set, and the temps are somewhat cooler - perhaps down to 91 or so. I think we are going to either be very sticky and sweaty, or we are going to run out of clothing very quickly.

It has been bright, sunny and HOT.

Curtis

We had a nice flight. We flew just west of the Hudson Bay, north over Ontario and Manitoba and close to the North Pole -- within 100 miles or so -- then came south over Siberia, the Eastern corner of Mongolia and down to Shanghai, arriving on time 15 + hours after takeoff. One view over the polar ice cap could have been a close-up of a flyover of Jupiter's moon Europa, of course without the clouds. There were some really interesting mountain ranges in Siberia, very desolate.

We took the maglev train from the airport, which briefly reached a speed of 430 kilometers per hour. Then, we got on the subway line, taking the #2 and #4. And then, we walked about a mile, and sweated about a quart, to our hotel, where we checked in totally drenched.

Anyhow, the hotel is quite comfortable, but walking anywhere is really, really hot. You are probably glad you're not here after reading this.

We got a good nap.

The walk along Shanghai's "Bund" district is wild. Lots of hawkers, selling laser lights and other junk. We are now going to look for a bite to eat, and hopefully get a real night's sleep.

We are now in an internet cafe in Shanghai, and it is 8:15 PM here -- 12 hours ahead of you! This computer is a little hard to use because most of the letters have been worn off the keys. I am stumbling over the keyboard as though in the dark.

It is now 93 degrees, feels like 108, already dark at 8:30 PM.